Placement of a wireless network access point

ABSTRACT

Devices, methods, and systems for placement of a wireless network access point are described herein. One method includes determining a location of any existing wireless network access points of a wireless location system in an area, computing a Voronoi partition around the locations of the existing wireless network access points in the area, wherein the Voronoi partition includes a number of vertices defined by the locations of the existing wireless network access points, and determining a location to place an additional wireless network access point in the area based on the Voronoi partition, wherein the location corresponds to the vertex in the Voronoi partition that is farthest from its defining locations and in the area and has a worst location accuracy as compared to a location accuracy threshold.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to devices, methods, and systems forplacement of a wireless network access point.

BACKGROUND

A wireless location system can use fixed wireless network access points(e.g., nodes) with known locations to determine the location of a mobiledevice(s) (e.g., location tag(s)) in an area (e.g., field) of interest,such as a building, refinery, or industrial plant, for example. In sucha system, the accuracy of the determined location of the mobiledevice(s) may decrease with the distance from the mobile device(s) toits nearest access point (e.g., the further the mobile device(s) is awayfrom its nearest access point, the less accurate its determined positionmay be). Accordingly, increasing the number of access points in thewireless location system can increase the accuracy of the system (e.g.,the more access points included in the system, the greater the accuracyof the system).

Increasing the number of access points in the wireless location system,however, can also increase the cost of the system (e.g., the more accesspoints included in the system, the greater the cost of the system).Further, the wireless location system may have a target accuracy levelassociated therewith (e.g., the uncertainty of a determined location ofa mobile device in the area of the system may not exceed a particularthreshold, such as, for instance, 10 meters). Accordingly, access pointsshould be placed in the wireless location system (e.g., the locations ofthe access points in the system should be selected) such that the targetaccuracy level of the system is met using the fewest number of accesspoints as possible.

Some previous approaches for placing access points in a wirelesslocation system include selecting the locations of the access pointsmanually. However, selecting the locations of the access points manuallycan be time consuming, and/or may not provide the cheapest and/or mostaccurate wireless system possible.

Some previous approaches for placing access points in a wirelesslocation system include selecting the locations of the access pointsaccording to a symmetrical (e.g., grid) pattern. However, selecting thelocations of the access points according to a symmetrical pattern may beinflexible (e.g., may not account for the characteristics of the area ofinterest), and/or may not provide the cheapest and/or most accuratewireless system possible.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIGS. 1A-1C illustrate a system for placement of a wireless networkaccess point in accordance with one or more embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates a method for placement of a wireless network accesspoint in accordance with one or more embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 3 illustrates a computing device for placement of a wirelessnetwork access point in accordance with one or more embodiments of thepresent disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Devices, methods, and systems for placement of a wireless network accesspoint are described herein. For example, one or more embodiments includedetermining a location of any existing wireless network access points ofa wireless location system in an area, computing a Voronoi partitionaround the locations of the existing wireless network access points inthe area, wherein the Voronoi partition includes a number of verticesdefined by the locations of the existing wireless network access points,and determining a location to place an additional wireless networkaccess point in the area based on the Voronoi partition, wherein thelocation corresponds to the vertex in the Voronoi partition that isfarthest from its defining locations and in the area and has a worstlocation accuracy as compared to a location accuracy threshold.

One or more embodiments of the present disclosure can include automaticplacement of wireless network access points (e.g., automatic selectionof the locations of the access points) in a wireless location system.Selecting the locations of the access points automatically can be lesstime consuming than previous approaches, and/or may provide cheaperand/or more accurate wireless systems than previous approaches.

Further, one or more embodiments of the present disclosure can includeplacement of wireless network access points (e.g., selecting thelocations of the access points) in a wireless location system in anon-symmetrical (e.g., non-grid) pattern. Selecting the locations of theaccess points in a non-symmetrical pattern can provide for flexibility(e.g., may account for the characteristics of the area in which thewireless location system is located), and/or may provide cheaper and/ormore accurate wireless systems than previous approaches.

In the following detailed description, reference is made to theaccompanying drawings that form a part hereof. The drawings show by wayof illustration how one or more embodiments of the disclosure may bepracticed.

These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those ofordinary skill in the art to practice one or more embodiments of thisdisclosure. It is to be understood that other embodiments may beutilized and that process changes may be made without departing from thescope of the present disclosure.

As will be appreciated, elements shown in the various embodiments hereincan be added, exchanged, combined, and/or eliminated so as to provide anumber of additional embodiments of the present disclosure. Theproportion and the relative scale of the elements provided in thefigures are intended to illustrate the embodiments of the presentdisclosure, and should not be taken in a limiting sense.

The figures herein follow a numbering convention in which the firstdigit or digits correspond to the drawing figure number and theremaining digits identify an element or component in the drawing.Similar elements or components between different figures may beidentified by the use of similar digits.

As used herein, “a” or “a number of” something can refer to one or moresuch things. For example, “a number of vertices” can refer to one ormore vertices.

FIGS. 1A-1C illustrate a system 100 for placement of a wireless networkaccess point in accordance with one or more embodiments of the presentdisclosure. As shown in FIG. 1A, system 100 includes a number ofexisting (e.g., fixed) wireless network access points (e.g., wirelessnetwork access points 102-1, 102-2, 102-3, 102-4, and 102-5) of awireless location system in an area (e.g., field) of interest 104.Although five wireless network access points (e.g., nodes) areillustrated in FIG. 1A, embodiments of the present disclosure are notlimited to a particular number of wireless network access points.Further, embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited toparticular locations in area 104 for the wireless network access points.For example, in some embodiments, a wireless network access point may belocated at a corner of area 104, as will be further described herein.

The wireless location system can be any type of wireless system that candetermine (e.g. track) the location of a mobile device(s) in an area ofinterest (e.g., area 104) using a number of wireless network accesspoints (e.g., wireless network access points 102-1, . . . , 102-5). Thatis, a wireless network access point, as used herein, can be any type ofwireless device that can be used to determine the location of a mobiledevice(s) (e.g., location tag(s) worn by a person(s)) in an area ofinterest. For instance, the wireless location system can be a Wi-Fi,radio frequency (RF), and/or global positioning (GPS) system (e.g., thewireless network access points and mobile device(s) can have Wi-Fi, RF,and/or GPS capabilities).

Area of interest 104 can be any type of area having a wireless locationsystem. For instance, area of interest 104 can be an area of a building,refinery, or industrial plant. Further, although area of interest 104 isa square in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1A, embodiments of thepresent disclosure are not limited to a particular shape for area ofinterest 104.

In some embodiments, the location of each wireless network access point102-1, . . . , 102-5 in area 104 can be determined. The location of eachwireless network access point can be determined, for example, by acomputing device, such as computing device 340 further described herein(e.g., in connection with FIG. 3). For instance, the computing devicecan determine the location of each wireless network access point byreceiving (e.g., from the wireless network access points) thecoordinates of the wireless network access points. In some embodiments,the locations of the wireless network access point 102-1, . . . , 102-5may already be known by the computing device (e.g., the computing devicemay not need to determine the locations of the wireless network accesspoints).

As shown in FIG. 1B, a Voronoi partition (e.g., region) around thelocations of wireless network access points 102-1, . . . , 102-5 in area104 can be computed (e.g., by the computing device). The Voronoipartition can include a number of vertices (e.g., vertices 110-1, 110-2,110-3, and 110-4) defined by the locations of the wireless networkaccess points, as shown in FIG. 1B. For instance, in the embodimentillustrated in FIG. 1B, each vertex 110-1, . . . , 110-4 can be definedby the locations of three (e.g., a different trio) of the wirelessnetwork access points. For instance, vertex 110-1 can be defined by thelocations of wireless network access points 102-1, 102-4, and 102-5,vertex 110-2 can be defined by the locations of wireless network accesspoints 102-1, 102-3, and 102-5, vertex 110-3 can be defined by thelocations of wireless network access points 102-1, 102-2, and 102-3, andvertex 110-4 can be defined by the locations of wireless network accesspoints 102-1, 102-2, and 102-4.

As shown in FIG. 1B, the Voronoi partition around the locations ofwireless network access points 102-1, . . . , 102-5 in area 104 can becomputed by dividing area 104 into a number of regions (e.g., regions112-1, 112-2, 112-3, 112-4, and 112-5) around the locations of thewireless network access points in area 104 using a number of linesegments (e.g., line segments 114-1, 114-2, 114-3, 114-4, 114-5, 114-6,114-7, and 114-8). Each line segment can be equidistant from two (e.g.,a different pair) of the wireless network access points. For instance,as shown in FIG. 1B, line segment 114-1 is equidistant from wirelessnetwork access points 102-4 and 102-5, line segment 114-2 is equidistantfrom wireless network access points 102-1 and 102-5, line segment 114-3is equidistant from wireless network access points 102-3 and 102-5, linesegment 114-4 is equidistant from wireless network access points 102-1and 102-3, line segment 114-5 is equidistant from wireless networkaccess points 102-2 and 102-3, line segment 114-6 is equidistant fromwireless network access points 102-1 and 102-2, line segment 114-7 isequidistant from wireless network access points 102-2 and 102-4, andline segment 114-8 is equidistant from wireless network access points102-1 and 102-4.

Further, each vertex can correspond to a different intersection of linesegments. For example, as shown in FIG. 1B, each line segment 114-1, . .. , 114-8 can intersect with two other line segments at a locationequidistant from the three closest wireless network access points in thearea, and each intersection can correspond to a different vertex 110-1,. . . , 110-4. For instance, as shown in FIG. 18, vertex 110-1corresponds to the intersection of line segments 114-1, 114-2, and114-8, vertex 110-2 corresponds to the intersection of line segments114-2, 114-3, and 114-4, vertex 110-3 corresponds to the intersection ofline segments 114-4, 114-5, and 114-6, and vertex 110-4 corresponds tothe intersection of line segments 114-6, 114-7, and 114-8. Further, eachvertex (e.g., each line segment intersection) can be adjacent threedifferent regions. For instance, as shown in FIG. 1B, vertex 110-1 isadjacent regions 112-1, 112-4, and 112-5, vertex 110-2 is adjacentregions 112-1, 112-3, and 112-5, vertex 110-3 is adjacent regions 112-1,112-2, and 112-3, and vertex 110-4 is adjacent regions 112-1, 112-2, and112-4.

Further, each region can include a different one of the wireless networkaccess points, with the wireless network access point in a region beingthe wireless network access point that is closest to all points in thatregion. For example, as shown in FIG. 18, region 112-1 includes wirelessnetwork access point 102-1, region 112-2 includes wireless networkaccess point 102-2, region 112-3 includes wireless network access point102-3, region 112-4 includes wireless network access point 102-4, andregion 112-5 includes wireless network access point 102-5.

Further, each region can have a location accuracy threshold associatedtherewith (e.g., a location accuracy threshold selected by the operatorof the system). The location accuracy threshold can be, for example, athreshold for the uncertainty in a determined location of a mobiledevice in the area of the system (e.g., the possible distance betweenthe determined location of the mobile device and the actual location ofthe mobile device), such as, for instance, 10 meters. In someembodiments, each region can have the same location accuracy thresholdassociated therewith, and in some embodiments each region can have adifferent location accuracy threshold associated therewith.

Further, a number of the line segments can intersect with a boundary(e.g., an outer edge) of the area. For example, as shown in FIG. 1B,line segments 114-1, 114-3, 114-5, and 114-7 intersect with a boundaryof area 104.

A location to place an additional wireless network access point in thearea can be determined (e.g., by the computing device) based on thecomputed Voronoi partition. For example, in some embodiments, thelocation to place the additional wireless network access point cancorrespond to the vertex in the Voronoi partition that is farthest fromits defining locations and in the area. That is, the location to placethe additional wireless network access point can correspond to the linesegment intersection that is farthest from its three closest wirelessnetwork access points and in the area. For example, in the embodimentillustrated in FIG. 1B, the location to place the additional wirelessnetwork access point can correspond to vertex 110-1, because vertex110-1 is the vertex that is farthest from its defining locations in area104. That is, in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1B, the location toplace the additional wireless network access point can correspond to theintersection of line segments 114-1, 114-2, and 114-8, because that linesegment intersection is the line segment intersection that is farthestfrom its three closest wireless network access points in area 104.

In some embodiments, the location to place the additional wirelessnetwork access point can correspond to the line segment intersectionwith the boundary of the area that is farthest from its three closestwireless network access points. For example, in the embodimentillustrated in FIG. 1B, the location to place the additional wirelessnetwork access point can correspond to the intersection of line segment114-1 and the boundary of area 104, because that line segment-boundaryintersection is the line segment-boundary intersection that is farthestfrom its three closest wireless network access points.

In some embodiments, the location to place the additional wirelessnetwork access point can correspond to the vertex in the Vornoipartition having the worst predicted and/or measured location accuracyin the area (e.g., the vertex at which the predicted and/or measureduncertainty in the determined location of the mobile device in the areais greatest). For example, the location to place the additional wirelessnetwork access point can correspond to the vertex in the Vornoipartition having the worst predicted and/or measured location accuracyas compared to the location accuracy threshold associated with eachregion (e.g., the vertex at which the difference between the predictedand/or measured location accuracy of the vertex and the locationaccuracy threshold is greatest). For instance, in embodiments in whicheach region has a different location accuracy threshold associatedtherewith, the vertex in the Voronoi partition having the worstpredicated and/or measured location accuracy may be the vertex at whichthe difference between the predicted and/or measured location accuracyof the vertex and the location accuracy threshold associated with aregion adjacent the vertex is greatest.

The vertex having the worst predicted and/or measured location accuracyin the area may or may not be the vertex that is farthest from itsdefining locations. For instance, in the embodiment illustrated in FIG.1B, the vertex having the worst predicted and/or measured locationaccuracy in area 104 may or may not be vertex 110-1.

The additional wireless network access point can then be placed at thedetermined location in the area. For example, as shown in FIG. 1C,additional wireless network access point 102-6 can be placed at vertex110-1 (e.g., at the intersection of line segments 114-1, 114-2, and114-3). Additionally and/or alternatively, in embodiments in which area104 is a square, an additional wireless network access point can beplaced at a number (e.g., each) of the corners of the square.

After the additional wireless network access point (e.g., wirelessnetwork access point 102-6 shown in FIG. 1C) is placed at the determinedlocation in the area, it can be determined (e.g., by the computingdevice) whether another additional wireless network access point isneeded in the area. In some embodiments, another additional wirelessnetwork access point may be needed in the area if the predicted and/ormeasured location accuracy of the wireless location system in the areadoes not meet or exceed a particular location accuracy threshold (e.g.,a location accuracy threshold selected by the operator of the system).The location accuracy threshold can be, for example, a threshold for theuncertainty in a determined location of a mobile device in the area ofthe system, as previously described herein.

In some embodiments, another (e.g., a second) additional wirelessnetwork access point may be needed in the area if the number of existingwireless network access points (e.g., wireless network access points102-1, . . . , 102-5) and the additional wireless network access points(e.g., 102-6) does not meet or exceed a particular number of wirelessnetwork access points (e.g., a particular number of wireless networkaccess devices selected by the operator of the wireless locationsystem). For example, in the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 1C, anotheradditional wireless network access point may be needed if the particularnumber of wireless network access points is greater than six.

If it is determined that another additional wireless network accesspoint is needed, an additional Voronoi partition around the locations ofthe existing wireless network access points and the additional wirelessnetwork access point (e.g., wireless network access points 102-1, . . ., 102-6) in the area can be computed (e.g., by the computing device) ina manner analogous to that previously described herein. For example, theadditional Voronoi partition can include a number of vertices defined bythe locations of the existing wireless network access points and theadditional wireless network access point in a manner analogous to thatpreviously described herein.

A location to place the another additional wireless network access pointin the area can be determined (e.g., by the computing device) based onthe additional Voronoi partition in a manner analogous to thatpreviously described herein. For example, the location to place theanother additional wireless network access point in the area cancorrespond to the vertex in the additional Voronoi partition that isfarthest from its defining locations and in the area, the line segmentintersection with the boundary of the area that is farthest from itsthree closest wireless network access points, and/or the vertex in theadditional Vornoi partition having the worst predicted and/or measuredlocation accuracy in the area, in a manner analogous to that previouslydescribed herein.

The another additional wireless network access point can then be placedat the determined location in the area, and it can be determined again(e.g., by the computing device) whether another (e.g., a third)additional wireless network access point is needed in the area in amanner analogous to that previously described herein. If it isdetermined that another (e.g., a third) additional wireless networkaccess point is needed in the area, the above process can continue to berepeated until it is determined that no additional wireless networkaccess points are needed in the area.

FIG. 2 illustrates a method 220 for placement of a wireless networkaccess point in accordance with one or more embodiments of the presentdisclosure. Method 220 can be performed by, for example, a computingdevice, such as computing device 340 further described herein (e.g., inconnection with FIG. 3).

At block 222, method 220 includes determining a location of any existingwireless network access points of a wireless location system in an area.The existing wireless network access points can be, for example,wireless network access points 102-1, . . . , 102-5 in area 104previously described herein (e.g., in connection with FIG. 1A), andtheir location can be determined in a manner analogous to thatpreviously described herein (e.g., in connection with FIG. 1A).

In some embodiments, there may be no existing wireless network accesspoints in the area. In such embodiments, a plurality of wireless networkaccess points can be placed in the area and treated as the existingwireless network access points. The plurality of wireless network accesspoints can be placed at any location in the area (e.g., the plurality ofwireless network access points can be placed in the area in asymmetrical or non-symmetrical pattern). The placement of the pluralityof wireless network access points can depend on, for example, thecharacteristics of the area, and may be selected by, for example, theoperator of the wireless location system.

At block 224, method 220 includes computing a Voronoi partition aroundthe locations of the existing wireless network access points in thearea, wherein the Voronoi partition includes a number of verticesdefined by the locations of the existing wireless network access points.The Voronoi partition can be analogous to the Voronoi partitionpreviously described herein (e.g., in connection with FIG. 1B), thenumber of vertices included in the Voronoi partition can be, forexample, vertices 110-1, . . . , 110-4 previously described herein(e.g., in connection with FIG. 1B), and the Voronoi partition can becomputed in a manner analogous to that previously described herein(e.g., in connection with FIG. 1B).

At block 226, method 220 includes determining a location to place anadditional wireless network access point in the area based on theVoronoi partition, wherein the location corresponds to the vertex in theVoronoi partition that is farthest from its defining locations and inthe area and has a worst location accuracy as compared to a locationaccuracy threshold. The additional wireless network access point can be,for example, wireless network access point 102-6 previously describedherein (e.g., in connection with FIG. 1C), and the location to place theadditional wireless network access point can be determined in a manneranalogous to that previously described herein (e.g., in connection withFIG. 1B).

At block 228, method 220 includes placing the additional wirelessnetwork access point at the determined location in the area. Theadditional wireless network access point can be placed at the determinedlocation in a manner analogous to that previously described herein(e.g., in connection with FIG. 1C).

At block 230, method 220 includes determining whether another additionalwireless network access point is needed in the area. The determinationof whether another additional wireless network access point is needed inthe area can be analogous to that previously described herein.

If it is determined at block 230 that no additional wireless networkaccess point is needed in the area, method 220 ends at block 232. If itis determined at block 230 that another additional wireless networkaccess point is needed in the area, method 220 returns to block 224, andblocks 224, 226, 228, and 230 can be repeated until it is determinedthat no additional wireless network access point is needed in the area.

FIG. 3 illustrates a computing device 340 for placement of a wirelessnetwork access point in accordance with one or more embodiments of thepresent disclosure. Computing device 340 can be, for example, a laptopcomputer, a desktop computer, or a mobile device (e.g., a mobile phone,a personal digital assistant, etc.), among other types of computingdevices.

As shown in FIG. 3, computing device 340 includes a memory 342 and aprocessor 344 coupled to memory 342. Memory 342 can be any type ofstorage medium that can be accessed by processor 344 to perform variousexamples of the present disclosure. For example, memory 342 can be anon-transitory computer readable medium having computer readableinstructions (e.g., computer program instructions) stored thereon thatare executable by processor 344 to place a wireless network access pointin accordance with one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

Memory 342 can be volatile or nonvolatile memory. Memory 342 can also beremovable (e.g., portable) memory, or non-removable (e.g., internal)memory. For example, memory 342 can be random access memory (RAM) (e.g.,dynamic random access memory (DRAM) and/or phase change random accessmemory (PCRAM)), read-only memory (ROM) (e.g., electrically erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EEPROM) and/or compact-disc read-onlymemory (CD-ROM)), flash memory, a laser disc, a digital versatile disc(DVD) or other optical disk storage, and/or a magnetic medium such asmagnetic cassettes, tapes, or disks, among other types of memory.

Further, although memory 342 is illustrated as being located incomputing device 340, embodiments of the present disclosure are not solimited. For example, memory 342 can also be located internal to anothercomputing resource (e.g., enabling computer readable instructions to bedownloaded over the Internet or another wired or wireless connection).

Although specific embodiments have been illustrated and describedherein, those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that anyarrangement calculated to achieve the same techniques can be substitutedfor the specific embodiments shown. This disclosure is intended to coverany and all adaptations or variations of various embodiments of thedisclosure.

It is to be understood that the above description has been made in anillustrative fashion, and not a restrictive one. Combination of theabove embodiments, and other embodiments not specifically describedherein will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewing theabove description.

The scope of the various embodiments of the disclosure includes anyother applications in which the above structures and methods are used.Therefore, the scope of various embodiments of the disclosure should bedetermined with reference to the appended claims, along with the fullrange of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.

In the foregoing Detailed Description, various features are groupedtogether in example embodiments illustrated in the figures for thepurpose of streamlining the disclosure. This method of disclosure is notto be interpreted as reflecting an intention that the embodiments of thedisclosure require more features than are expressly recited in eachclaim.

Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive subject matter liesin less than all features of a single disclosed embodiment. Thus, thefollowing claims are hereby incorporated into the Detailed Description,with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment.

What is claimed:
 1. A computer implemented method for placement of awireless network access point, comprising: determining a location of anyexisting wireless network access points of a wireless location system inan area; computing a Voronoi partition around the locations of theexisting wireless network access points in the area, wherein the Voronoipartition includes a number of vertices defined by the locations of theexisting wireless network access points; and determining a location toplace an additional wireless network access point in the area based onthe Voronoi partition, wherein the location corresponds to the vertex inthe Voronoi partition that: is farthest from its defining locations andin the area; and has a worst location accuracy as compared to a locationaccuracy threshold.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein computing theVoronoi partition around the locations of the existing wireless networkaccess points in the area includes dividing the area into a number ofregions using a number of line segments, wherein: each line segment isequidistant from a different pair of the existing wireless networkaccess points; and each of the number of vertices corresponds to adifferent intersection of the number of line segments.
 3. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the method includes placing the additional wirelessnetwork access point at the determined location in the area.
 4. Themethod of claim 3, wherein the method includes determining, afterplacing the additional wireless network access point at the determinedlocation in the area, whether another additional wireless network accesspoint is needed in the area.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein themethod includes, if another additional wireless network access point isneeded in the area: computing an additional Voronoi partition around thelocations of the existing wireless network access points and theadditional wireless network access point in the area, wherein theadditional Voronoi partition includes a number of vertices defined bythe locations of the existing wireless network access points and theadditional wireless network access point; and determining a location toplace the another additional wireless network access point in the areabased on the additional Voronoi partition, wherein the location to placethe another additional wireless network access point corresponds to thevertex in the additional Voronoi partition that is farthest from itsdefining locations and in the area.
 6. The method of claim 4, whereinanother additional wireless network access point is needed in the areaif a location accuracy of the wireless location system in the area doesnot meet or exceed a particular location accuracy threshold.
 7. Themethod of claim 4, wherein another additional wireless network accesspoint is needed in the area if the existing wireless network accesspoints and the additional wireless network access point does not meet orexceed a particular number of wireless network access points.
 8. Themethod of claim 1, wherein determining the location of any existingwireless network access points in the area includes receivingcoordinates of any existing wireless network access points in the area.9. A computing device for placement of a wireless network access point,comprising: a memory; and a processor configured to execute executableinstructions stored in the memory to: determine a location of anyexisting wireless network access points of a wireless location system inan area; divide the area into a number of regions around the locationsof the existing wireless network access points in the area using anumber of line segments, wherein: each line segment is equidistant fromtwo of the existing wireless network access points; each line segmentintersects with two other line segments at a location equidistant fromthe three closest wireless network access points in the area; and eachregion has a location accuracy threshold associated therewith; anddetermine a location to place an additional wireless network accesspoint in the area, wherein the location to place the additional wirelessnetwork access point corresponds to the line segment intersection that:is farthest from its three closest wireless network access points and inthe area; and has a worst location accuracy as compared to the locationaccuracy threshold.
 10. The computing device of claim 9, wherein eachregion has a same location accuracy threshold associated therewith. 11.The computing device of claim 9, wherein: each region has a differentlocation accuracy threshold associated therewith; and the line segmentintersection having the worst location accuracy is the line segmentintersection where a difference between the location accuracy of theline segment intersection and the location accuracy threshold associatedwith a region adjacent the line segment intersection is greatest. 12.The computing device of claim 9, wherein: each of the number of regionsincludes a different one of the existing wireless network access points;and the existing wireless network access point in a region is theclosest wireless network access point to all points in the region. 13.The computing device of claim 9, wherein the processor is configured toexecute the instructions to, if there are no existing wireless networkaccess points in the area: place a plurality of wireless network accesspoints in the area; divide the area into a number of regions around theplurality of wireless network access points in the area using a numberof line segments, wherein: each line segment is equidistant from two ofthe plurality of wireless network access points; and each line segmentintersects with two other line segments at a location equidistant fromthe three closest of the plurality of wireless network access points inthe area; and determine a location to place an additional wirelessnetwork access point in the area, wherein the location to place theadditional wireless network access point corresponds to the line segmentintersection that is farthest from its three closest wireless networkaccess points and in the area.
 14. The computing device of claim 9,wherein the processor is configured to execute the instructions to, ifthe area is a square, place a wireless network access point in eachcorner of the square.
 15. The computing device of claim 9, wherein: oneor more of the number of line segments intersect with a boundary of thearea; and the location to place the additional wireless network accesspoint corresponds to the line segment intersection with the boundary ofthe area that is farthest from its three closest wireless network accesspoints.
 16. A system for placement of a wireless network access point,comprising: a number of wireless network access points of a wirelesslocation system in an area; and a computing device configured to:determine a location of each of the wireless network access points inthe area; compute a Voronoi partition around the locations of thewireless network access points in the area, wherein the Voronoipartition includes a number of vertices, wherein each vertex is definedby the locations of three of the wireless network access points in thearea; and determine a location to place an additional wireless networkaccess point in the area based on the Voronoi partition, wherein thelocation corresponds to the vertex in the Voronoi partition having aworst location accuracy in the area.
 17. The system of claim 16, whereinthe vertex in the Voronoi portion having the worst location accuracy inthe area is the vertex in the Voronoi partition that is farthest fromits three defining locations and in the area.
 18. The system of claim16, wherein the vertex in the Voronoi portion having the worst locationaccuracy in the area is not the vertex in the Voronoi partition that isfarthest from its three defining locations and in the area.
 19. Thesystem of claim 16, wherein the number of wireless network access pointsare configured to determine a location of a mobile device in the area.20. The system of claim 16, wherein the computing device is configuredto: determine whether another additional wireless network access pointis needed in the area; and if another additional wireless network accesspoint is needed in the area: compute an additional Voronoi partitionaround the locations of the wireless network access points and theadditional wireless network access point in the area, wherein theadditional Voronoi partition includes a number of vertices, wherein eachvertex is defined by the locations of three of the wireless networkaccess points and the additional wireless network access point in thearea; and determine a location to place the another additional wirelessnetwork access point in the area based on the additional Voronoipartition, wherein the location to place the another additional wirelessnetwork access point corresponds to the vertex in the additional Voronoipartition having a worst location accuracy in the area.